Does anyone have experience with ceramic pads? I need to get new brakes and i found a good deal from Advance Auto for ceramic pads and bendix rotors. How is the stopping power on the ceramics? Do they make alot of noise? Do they dust alot? I know that ceramics are supposed to be quiet and low dusting, but i want to know from someone who has personal experience, especially since the guy said that the stopping power is great, but a buddy of mine said that the gripping power isn't that good.

 

oh yeah, the brake pads are Friction Master #CMX653 Ceramics and the rotors are Bendix #141441.

 

Try to do some research. 15 sec on google. http://www.shotimes.com/brakes/survey/brakes3.html

 

I have ceramics with cross drilled. The pads brake better, but they have to get a little warmed up. Brake dust is less but it still builds up on the wheel after 2-3 weeks after a car wash. I paid about $125 w/shipping a pair for brembos on Ebay (shipper name NightsAuto if your curious). I got my ceramics from Tire Rack. They work well. Ceramics dont squeel as much as semi-metalic.

You might want to consider installing the brakes yourself. It's real easy and you'll do a better job than because you'll care about what your doing more than enyone else.

 

May also want to check these guys out, come time I'm going to give the Performance Friction carbon metallic pads a try. Quote from Performance Friction: "Carbon Metallic® is Performance Friction Corporation's brand name for its brake pads. They are completely different from organic or semi-metallic pads. They offer superior braking, pedal feel and longer life without fade at high temperatures. As the name implies, they are of Carbon Metallic® composition as opposed to being organically based as other main stream brands of pads. Carbon Metallic® contains no asbestos, no kevlar and no lead. Organic and semi-metallic pads use clay as a filler to cut costs. This sacrifices performance. Performance Friction Carbon Metallic® pads are extremely strong, which offers superior brake pedal feel. Less strong organic, organic based or semi-metallic pads actually can compress especially when hot. Carbon Metallic® pads continue to grip even when hot, offering consistent braking and pedal feel. There is no good, better or best grade."
Club members input: Very linear pedal response. Slightly firm (stiff) pedal, but has a more solid feel with less squishiness than the previous semi-metallics. Original developed for rental car and police car fleet use, so they are extremely long-lasting pads and very easy on rotors. "65K mi. and they're only half gone..." was echoed by more than one member. Little fade unless really abused. Some members report success on the race track, others do not. Moderately dusty, about the same as Ford semi-metallics. Hard to go wrong by choosing these pads
Link below has them for only $37 & $6.95 shipping

http://www.nationalfleetparts.com/pe...e_friction.asp

 

i would have done some research but i wanted to know if anyone with a Maxima had them on and what they thought about them. Adithius, about how much warming up do they need? And about installing them, i always do most of my own work on the car...don't trust those other guys. MAXRB8, thanks for doin that research, problem is i need to get the pads and rotors ASAP because my inspection is up next month and i don't want to have to wait while they get shipped out. I'm only going to have to wait a day to get the pads and rotors from Advance so that's the way i'm probably gonna go. Just tryin to get some input on how good the pads and rotors are and how they will work with eachother.

 

I have front cross drilled rotors from Stillen. I also have front pads and Goodridge Brake line kit. All the items are new.
http://www.stillen.com/Sportscars_de...d=17807&page=1
http://www.stillen.com/Sportscars_de...id=2181&page=1
http://www.stillen.com/search_detail...&source=Search
All the items will cost you 310.00 plus shipping. I'm selling all for 250.00.
Note brake pads item number has changed from D1232m to d653m. Phone # to Stillen 866-250-5542.. Pads are the same I called before sending this email.
Thanks,
Joey

 

Ceramic pads are installed on the Maxima from the factory. At least on the front, I know your OEM pads are ceramic. I recently replaced pads all around and used ceramics (Akebono ProACT brand).

The advantages of ceramic are long life, low noise, and less dust. The dust is still there to a reduced extent, but it is close to the color of the aluminum wheels, so it doesn't show as much. All these reasons are why ceramics are OEM these days on lots of cars.

Stopping power is fine for a street car. They are not quite as "grabby" as some of the other pads out there, but since you can lock your brakes up anytime you want, have good pedal feel and fade resistance I really can't complain.

 

im runnin morse ceramics and you cant beat them for the money. good stopping, virtually no brake dust and theyre fairly cheap. as far as the performance frictions that were mentioned, they stop great, dust horribly, and are hard on rotors.

 

Joey -- have you considered posting in the classifieds? Is it really necessary to clutter up every post about brakes with your ads?

 

I was going to change mine over the Holiday too, what's better? Raybestos Ceramics or Bosch Ceramic?

 

i would probably go with Raybestos for the ceramics if that's what you can get. Thanks to all of you guys for your info, i'm on my way to get them right now and i'll let ya know how it goes after i break them in. Thanks again and happy holidays.

 

I used to have Performace Friction Pads on my Max. The pedal felt a tad firmer, but otherwise, I didn't like them very much. The braking performance/bite/distances weren't so good. AND THE DUST was such a pain to get off the wheels. Perf. Friction Pads dust was the hardest dust to get off my rims.

I now use Axxis Ultimates pads. They are ceramic pads. These are far better. They're quiet, great pedal feel, and they bite and hold far better than OEM and Performance Friction. The increased braking confidence is great. They dust some, but the dust comes off so much easier than Performance Friction does.

 

I thought semi metallics were the oem pad material? I'm not sure ceramic pads were even available back in late 1994 when the 1st 4 gen rolled out. I could be wrong

 

I had a problem with my brakes "scrubbing" as I would come to a stop..I got the ceramic pads from auto zone and havent had a problem since. The only thing that disappointed me was that they didnt come with the autozone life time guarantee...as in u take back your metallic pads( after they are worn down..claim that they broke) and u get a new pair...for free

 

well, i just picked them up today and will be putting them on in a bit. i gotta do some driving to break them in and then i'll know how they perform. What do you guys think about the break in...hit the brakes really hard a couple times, or just take it easy for about 100 miles? I usually just take it easy on the brakes until i feel them start to grab better than when i first put them on.

 

I here the bendix ones are amazing not to mention that the are full ceramics and advanced sells them for 35 bucks.

 

You could be right about 1994, I'm not sure when Nissan switched over. The ceramic pads were originally developed in the mid-80's and started being used as OE on some of the high-volume Japanese cars like the Camry and Accord in the early 90s. They were even used on the Ford Taurus.

There is a certain amount of marketing-speak involved, too. What some people call semi-metallic other people may call ceramic. If they are not 100% metallic fibers, what else is in those pads? Some type of ceramic material, most likely.

 

ive had akebono pro act ceramics with drilled rotors for about 35k now,,,still look new, much less dust, better stopping power, imo.

 

buying rotors on ebay is okay, right? I see some brembos w/ free shipping!

120 shipped for pair of drilled/slotted front rotors. not too bad, right?

 

I have been watching brembos on ebay for a while and $120 with free shipping seems little expensive for me, I have seen for $100 incl shipping.

 

well, after a couple days of breaking them in, i would have to say i'm still not very pleased with them. I'm still not trying to get on the brakes hard because i have a little below 200mi. on them, but so far the gripping power isn't that great, the pedal still feels mushy (no, i don't have air in my lines), and i'm still getting a pulsation at low speed low pressure braking. Any ideas on the pulsation?

 

No pro at this, but my guess is warped rotors. My moms old car had a pulsation, and the dealership told her it was because the front rotors were warped. They changed the rotors and it was good as new.

 

how can they be warped if i've had the new rotors and pads on for about 4 days? the reason i changed the rotors and pads was because i was getting a terrible pulsation due to cheap rotors.

 

Oh, well I have no clue then. Hopefully someone that knows a little bit more can help you out.

 

Did you check the run-out? When the new rotor is mounted, run-out measures how far the rotor surface moves in and out as it rotates. The FSM says maximum permitted run-out is 0.08 mm. If the run-out is greater than this, try shifting the rotor by one lug hole at a time and repeat the measurement until you find the position that has the smallest run-out. Make sure the hub mounting surface is clean. If run-out is still larger than 0.08 mm, the FSM says to use an on-car brake lathe to true the rotor.

 

i have no way to measure runout because i don't own a dial indicator and i'm not gonna trust any other way of measuring it. guess i'll just have to play around with it a little.